New Orleans Saints are working to getting more interceptions

In the two OTAs open to the media, it was clear New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and secondary coach Ken Flajole, whom Spagnuolo brought over from his Rams staff, have the secondary doing some different drills.

Interceptions, or, more accurately, the lack thereof, have been a problem for the Saints. Last season, New Orleans tied for 19th in takeaways in the NFL, but only four teams had fewer than the Saints' nine interceptions.

Spagnuolo has some new drills for his defensive backs. In one, they stand on the side of a high pole and are required to reach around it and catch balls thrown to the opposite side of where they are standing. The backs also have drills catching balls that are painted white on both tips, sometimes hauling in throws after running a distance under a net designed to keep them low.

"It's really about focusing our attention on the ball," cornerback Jabari Greer said. "You know, we play a game where you rarely catch it when it's not in traffic; you usually catch a ball around, over or through somebody. You have to get those drills in practice, and I think that's one thing the coach is doing: making sure our eyes are on the tip of the ball, that we're working around an obstacle to get to the ball so that when we break on a ball, it's second nature and it's not something new to us."

Another thing missing: relentless, aggressive attempts to strip the ball. That was a hallmark of practice under former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who left for St. Louis after New Orleans' playoff loss at San Francisco last January and who is now suspended indefinitely from professional football for his role in the bounty scheme.

Williams wanted every player to try to strip the ball, and, regardless of the play, Saints practices were filled with sharp cries of, "get it out! get it out!" as one defender after another would run to the ballcarrier and try to rip the football free.

Greer stressed that the defense is still focused on creating turnovers. The change during OTAs is attributable in part, he said, to new rules as much as new schemes and coaches.

"We'll get there," he said. "There's new OTA rules about allowing the guy to run and pursuing the ball. It's not a new philosophy, we have to allow the guy to run. Of course we can chase him down and go after the ball, but as far as impeding his progress, we can't impede his progress. So I think a lot of the things you see out there -- we are making sure that we are getting our best work in under the rules. Because, as you know, I don't know if you realize now, but I think there might be some people watching us."

INJURY REPORT: Left tackle Jermon Bushrod remains limited with what Vitt described as a shoulder ailment. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma, whom Vitt said last week is generally excused from Thursday practices to rehab his surgically cleaned knee and to keep in line with new OTA work-hour rules, was chatting with coaches on the sideline for a moment Thursday but did not participate in drills. Similarly, running back Mark Ingram was on the field but not practicing. Ingram, too, is recovering from a knee cleanup tied to damage in his college days at Alabama.

Vitt also noted that running back Chris Ivory, who has battled a variety of injuries in his two-year NFL career, felt hamstring tightness and was limited.

LAWSUIT ACTION: In what lawyers described as a routine legal step, U.S. District Judge Ginger Berrigan granted a request this week from attorneys for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to give them another 21 days to reply to the libel and slander lawsuit filed by Vilma.